Connector



Feb. 1, 1949.

K. McGl-:E Er AL 2,460,304

CONNECTOR Filed July 29, 1944 unmummw [fa CONN/CTIA@ l l '//lI CABLE DIELECT/C ourse coupon/m6. /Z

INV ENT OR.

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Patented Feb. 1, 1949 CONNECTOR Kenneth McGee, Dayton, and Harold D. Vanderpool, Springeld, hio, assignors to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of War Application July 29, 1344, Serial No. 547,244

" 2 Claims. (Cl. 173-361) (Grantee under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to us of any royality thereon.

The invention to be1hereinafter described relates to connectors and more particularly to cable connectors for high voltage use.

It has been common practice to provide cable connectors made integrally with cable ends, the connectors being built into or onto the cable ends at the particular plant. In such instances, the general method has been to vulcanize the outer dielectric layer of the connector to the next adjacent dielectric layer and then apply the coupling shell and cooperating collar. Where a single coupling, only, is involved, this construction is acceptable though, even for a single There are a great many installations, especially in connection with air planes and various military uses, in which cables are provided having a large number of connectors distributed throughout the length of the cable either at uniformly spaced intervals or at irregularly spaced intervals. The connections are all prefabricated or vulcanized, as above indicated and, therefore, inseparable parts of the cable. In many cases, various changes make it desirable to change some of the prefabricated connectors. This means complete destruction of the respective connector, with great loss of time and labor and, frequently, an inadequate or, at least, poorer connector in its place. There is a great demand for a connector which may be readily, quickly, adequately and reliably attached to and detached from a cable, so that the connection or connections may be applied at any desired point in the length of the cable, instead of being limited to the predetermined points established by prefabrication.

The present invention completely avoids all of the above and other objections and provides a simple, compact, eiiicient and economical, detachable connector which may be quickly, easily and reliably applied to and removed from a cable at any desired point.

In order to more clearly disclose the construction, operation and use of the invention, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of the present application. Throughout the several gures of the drawings like reference characters indicate the same parts in the several views.

Fig. 1 is a central, longitudinal cross section of the invention, applied; and

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Referring to the drawings in detail I indicates a cable having the usual outer cover or sheath 2. In the present invention, the connector includes a cylindrical shell 4, and a cylindrical dielectric body 5 within said shell and adapted to slidingly receive a comparatively close fit, the cable I with its sheath 2 removed. Shell 4 may be provided with an outer annular shoulder or rib 6 adapted to engage and act as a stop for the radial annular iiange 'I of the coupling ring 8. Shell 4 is also provided with a threaded portion 9 adapted to receive the cooperating threaded section of a clamping ring or cap nut I0 the radial flange II of which is adapted to overlap and engage the radial flanges l2 and I3 of the conical clamping ferrules I4 and I'5 between which the cable sheath is clamped. By turning up tight the ring I0, the ferrules I4 and I5 will clamp the cable securely to the connector shell While also adequately grounding the cable through the shell 4. At the same time, an internal annular shoulder I6 engaging 5 tends to draw the dielectric cylinder rmly against the flange of the inner ferrule and securely seats it in operative position about the cable. Preferably, the dielectric body 5 is rubber. In assembling, it is lubricated. Its larger diameter may be deformed so that it then may be forced through the small diameter of cylinder 4 into the larger diameter where it will expand behind shoulder I6.

In the preferred construction, the cable I, as a cable does not extend the full length of the dielectric 5 which, it will be noticed, projects slightly beyond the open or plug end of cylinder 4 and is rounded off. It ends just short of or within the cylinder. The cable bore through 5, from that point, receives a short cylindrical body or plug I8 of conducting rubber (rubbergraphite compound) which is molded about the central conductor of the cable. Plug I'B is vulcanized in and to the dielectric 5 and becomes integral therethrough, completely eliminating any air space between it and the dielectric l as might be the case where a metal cap would be substituted as a modiilcation, for instance.

The outer conducting rubber of the cable, between the cable and dielectric l, is stripped back from the outer end a distance approximately one half the inside length of the shell l, as will be seen on reference to Fig. l.

Preferably, and as an economyin manufacture and handling, as well as a convenience in hanf dling and application, shell 4 is made as one piece or unitary.

The plug end il of this plug member of half of the coupling is part and parcel of the central conducting rod or cable core element and, as in all such connectors, is adapted for plugging into the cooperating socket member of the connector, not shown.

The construction, operation and use of the invention will be clear from the preceding detailed description.

Changes may be made in the construction, arrangement and disposition of the several parts of the invention within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the ileld of the invention and it is meant to include all such within this application wherein only one preferred form has been illustrated, along withV one modincatlon, purely by way of example and with no thought or intention to, in any degree, limit the invention thereby.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In an electrical cable connector, a substantially cylindrical outer vshell having an inner peripheral shoulder intermediate itslength, the internal diameter of said shell being vreduced forward of said shoulder, a removable compressible resilient dielectric body seated within said shell under compression by the shell wall throughout the length of the shell, said dielectric body closely iltting the internal wall of said shell and in manually yieldable locking engagement with the aforementioned shoulder, said dielectric body being formed with a central longitudinal bore for slidably receiving the cable ccnductor, and meansA for releasably attaching the outer braid of said cable to said outer shell.

2. In an electrical cable connector, a substantially cylindrical outer shell having an inner peripheral shoulder intermediate its length, the internal diameter of said shell being reduced forward of said shoulder, a removable compres-7 sible resilient dielectric body seated within said shell under compression by the shell wall throughout the length of the shell, said dielectric body closelyiitting the internal wall of said shell and in manually yieldable locking engagement with the aforementioned shoulder, said dielectric body being formed with a central longitudinal bore for slidably receiving the insulated cable conductor, a cylindrical plug of electrically-conductive material in the front end of said dielectric body bore, said plug also having a longitudinal bore for slidably receiving the bared cable conductor, the outer periphery of said plug closely tting the borewall of said di electric body and integrally secured thereto, whereby sai-:l dielectric body and said plug form a unitary assembly for manual insertion into the outer shell of the connector, and means for releasably attaching the outer braid of said cable to said outer shell.

mNNETH McGEE. HAROLD D. VANDERPOOL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,896,444 Fossati Feb. 7, 1933 2,131,066 Obermaier Sept. 27, 1938 2,173,643 Moser Sept. 19, 1939 2,177,508 Abbott Oct. 24, 1939 2,269,194 Finlayson Jan. 6, 1942 2,280,711 Macillett et al Apr. 21, 1942 l 2,282,239 Opsahl May 5, 1942 2,304,210 Scott et al. Dec. 8, 1942 2,379,942 Webber July 10, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 335,312 Italy 1936 

